Support grows to save Saxmundham sweet stall from closure in market rebrand

Kevin Hilliard said it should be "up to the customer" to decide what they buy, not the council

More than 1,000 people have backed a campaign to save a Suffolk sweet stall from being kicked off a market as it does not fit its "healthy" rebrand.

Kevin Hilliard, 68, has run a pick-and-mix sweet stall at Saxmundham's Wednesday market for over 20 years.

"[I'm] peeved, after all the loyalty I give to the town," he said.

The town council has issued him with a termination notice, stating the market's rebranding towards "fresh, healthy food" is key to its survival.

A petition to save the stall is to be presented to the council later.

"As I look at it, it's down to the customer. If they want to buy sweets, they buy sweets, and that ain't going to make no difference to the market if I stand here still and I get customers or not."

Kevin Hilliard's stall has been operating at the Wednesday market in Saxmundham for 24 years

Mr Hilliard's daughter Michaela Kerry started a petition on Change.org calling for the council to reconsider their decision, as first reported by the East Anglian Daily Times.

In a statement on the website, Ms Kerry wrote: "This decision by the town council not only affects my father but also impacts our community's sense of tradition and loyalty."

Since its launch one week ago, the petition has already gained more than 1,000 signatures.

One contributor said that Mr Hilliard "has been a loyal market trader… and should be recognised as such", while another said "it is important to have variety and I love the stall. Been going for years".

Although Mr Hilliard reported business has been slower since the Covid pandemic, he said "traditional, local customers, what have support me for years" have kept the stall going.

Kevin Hilliard said no-one from the council had visited the market personally

The council said: "Saxmundham Wednesday market has been in decline for a number of years... truthfully, it is on the brink of closure."

It said the rebrand was one step it had taken to "protect our market town heritage" and hoped the new focus would draw in more weekday shoppers.

"The social media response has been genuinely unexpected and we are taking on board the comments we are receiving," the council continued.

"We sincerely wish that everyone who has engaged with this debate online would come out and regularly support their local market."